


Learning to Swim

by Princess_Citrus



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Bulges and Nooks, Dirty Talk, Dream Bubbles, First Time, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Xeno
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-03
Updated: 2015-03-02
Packaged: 2018-03-16 02:29:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3471026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Princess_Citrus/pseuds/Princess_Citrus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kankri likes to meet all the dead trolls that they come across in Paradox Space. One day his path crosses with another troll, one like his friend, but from after the scratch. Orphaner Dualscar helps Kankri understand himself better in the most intimate way.</p>
<p>First fic in a long, long time. Probably going to be multichapter, but not very plot driven. May end up being a little BDSM further on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Learning to Swim

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fic I've written in over a year and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I feel so out of touch with writing I don't even know if it makes much sense. Reviews, advice, and constructive criticism are more than welcome.
> 
> I've always headcannoned Kankri as a total freak in the sheets that he hides with his celibacy thing and, let's face it, Dualscar is more of a troll than Cronus will ever be.
> 
> The dub-con tag is more of a precaution than anything else.

Paradox Space was a funny place to be, dream bubbles specifically. Just when you got used to how things were, they changed, took on new memories, or bumped into other bubbles. Everyone hated it except for Kankri. He took each change and each person he met as an opportunity to educate. He had speeches and kits prepared for anything that came his way. They were rarely successful, but he took solace in the knowledge that he was trying to make Paradox Space a better place.

As soon as Kankri noticed the fuzziness of the shapes, the horizon getting blurry, that signaled another dream bubble intersecting with theirs, he gathered his materials. He had a large book that he recorded the names, sign, blood colors, identities, orientations, and triggers of all the trolls he came across. It wasn't very full, as most trolls weren't too keen on getting the third degree from a mouthy troll with no off button, but he tried. He tried to look presentable, but not too good. He wouldn't want to trigger anyone by looking well off.

The trolls from his session groaned as they saw Kankri getting ready to greet the newcomers and what it meant. Even Muelin was no longer enamored with the variety of trolls she could ship.

“Knock 'em dead, bro!” Latula joked, nudging Kankri with her elbow.

“Latula! A statement like that could be very triggering to someone, especially if they just died! I would appreciate it if you took more care in your words around those that may be more sensitive!” She rolled her eyes and let Kankri continue making his way to the boundaries of their bubble. He stood, alone on the beach that marked the boundary between them and paradox space and waited.

There was a hard to make out, dark shape that seemed to be making its way towards him. Kankri squinted and raised a hand to shade his eyes to try and make it out better. The shape was getting very big, very quickly. In no time, a huge ship loomed in front of Kankri and he squeaked. It was moving very fast and he didn't know if it would stop before hitting the sand. The wood creaked as it came closer and Kankri was frozen where he stood. He fell to the sand, covering his head with his book as if it would protect him. This was it, this was how he would double die.

But nothing happened. There was no pain, or even the sensation that the ship had collided with him at all. He nervously peeked one eye open. He seemed to be inside the ship. He sighed with relief and lowered the book. He straightened his sweater and tucked the book under his arm so he could search for any inhabitants.

It was very dark in the ship; dark and wet. Kankri didn't like it at all. He wouldn't go so far as to say he was triggered by it, but it was uncomfortable. He wandered the narrow halls, wood creaking all around him. The vessel moved underneath him, making him feel a little queasy. He saw light coming from the level above him and climbed the stairs. He stopped in front of an ornate door. Light seeped from underneath it. He knocked on it, but there was no answer. Pushing gently, he opened the door and stepped beyond it. “Hello?”

The room looked like a respite block, fairly bare with sparse furniture and a recuperacoon. The light came from a lamp sitting on a table. He hoped he wasn't intruding on anyone's privacy. There was a door further in that was open slightly, sound and more light coming from within. Kankri peeked through the gap and saw a tall troll, cast in shadow inside the block.

“Excuse me,” he said to announce his presence, stepping in. The troll spun around, taking an aggressive stance, teeth bared in a feral snarl and ear fins flared out. He was a seadweller. Kankri cowered against the wood of the door. “I hope I'm not triggering you with my presence,” he explained, voice wavering, “I just wanted to see if there was anyone here.” The troll stepped forward, into the light. He was tall, much taller than Kankri, much taller than anyone in his session, and many sweeps older, a fully matured adult. His eyes were blank and pale, showing that he was dead, but Kankri could still feel his gaze burning into his skin. He held himself with the kind of confidence and poise that high-bloods often did, but there was also a dangerous conviction that told Kankri he would not hesitate to kill him, or at least try. He must have come from after the scratch, from the planet where trolls were violent. The rest of his appearance convinced him, from the armor he was wearing, modeled after an imperial drone -a sight that struck fear into Kankri's very being- to the two large scars that marred his face. His person was glittering with many pieces of gold jewelry, much like the kind that Cronus kept hidden to hide his royal status. A thought struck Kankri. Maybe this troll was Cronus from Alternia. That possibility frightened him. The Cronus he knew was fairly harmless and ineffective, if a bit vulgar. He shuddered at what he would be like raised to kill and crush those beneath him on the spectrum. Kankri was absolutely triggered.

“Who are you?” the troll demanded in a booming voice that made Kankri jump. “Where am I?” The slight wavering on his w's confirmed it. He was definitely some manner of Ampora.

“M-my name is Kankri Vantas,” he introduced himself, trying not to appear so frightened, but also trying to look as non-threatening as possible. “And we are in a place called paradox space.”

The troll narrowed his blank eyes and growled. “Where the hell is paradox space and how did I get here?” He clenched his eyes shut and pressed the heel of his palm to his forehead, looking pained. “I can't remember anything...”

"I don't intend to trigger you, but...you are dead.” The trolls eyes snapped open and Kankri flinched, ears turning down. “Paradox space is where trolls go after death. Our souls live on in these things called dream bubbles, which take the shape of our memories. I think this ship may be your dream bubble.”

The growl deepened and Kankri shut his mouth. “Dead? How can I be dead? Who-” he stopped, realization dawning on his fierce features. “The Grand Highblood.” He faltered, absorbed in his memories. The ship shifted around them as the dream bubble took the shape of the current memory. They were standing in a hall, covering in a rainbow of blood, in front of a large and brutal looking throne. Kankri felt he might vomit. The gore that surrounded him made his bile sac do flips. He scrunched his eyes shut, breathing through his mouth so he wouldn't have to smell the acrid scent of dried blood from who knows how many trolls. “I was supposed to tell a joke...” the other continued. “I guess they didn't like it,” he chuckled.

“Please, take us back to the ship,” Kankri whined, feeling dizzy.

“How would I do that?” he asked.

“Remember it!” Kankri opened one eye. The other troll took another long look around the room, then closed his eyes. The scene shifted again, and Kankri found himself on the floor of the ship. He took a couple deep breaths and reached for his book that had slipped from his grasp, clutching it tightly. The other looked even taller now that he was on the floor below him. The troll had resumed an aggressive posture.

“So I'm dead, now what?” he hissed.

“Well, I like to meet all the trolls who's paths cross mine and write their names down in this book.” Kankri tried to appear confident, but it was hard when he was hardwired to be submissive to someone that much higher on the spectrum than him. The troll ripped the book from his hands and opened it.

“Identity? Orientation? Triggers? What is this nonsense?” It sounded like the question was rhetorical, although that had never stopped Kankri before. “What are you, some kind of gate keeper? Is it your job to welcome trolls into the after life or somethin'?”

“I just like to meet the trolls that happen up our bubble.”

“Your bubble? So you're just some dead troll?”

“'Just some dead troll' is a very invalidating title that could trigger one who has issues with self worth or-” his words fell short as he was hauled to his feet by the front of his sweater. He was face to face with the brutal snarl that Kankri was sure one might see before waking up in their own dream bubble.

“Shut. Up.” Kankri had no intention of making any sort of sound. “I don't know what kind of damage you've suffered in your pan, but no one talks to me that way and walks away with their life.” Kankri believed him. “Lord knows how you survived culling until, what, 9 sweeps? 10?”

A squeak escaped his throat. If he remembered correctly, the culling on Alternia was more the lethal sort as opposed to the coddling kind. “Apologize at once!” he barked and dropped Kankri to the floor.

“I'm sorry!” he managed to get out, his voice still more of a squeaking sound.

“What was that?”

“I'm sorry...sir?”

He sniffed in distaste. “It's like you don't know how to behave properly, like we're from different planets,” he muttered.

“Actually...” Kankri said against his better judgment, “I believe we are.” The look on the other's face was not one of amusement. “I don't mean to offend or-or to speak above my rank” it pained him to say something like that, “but I do not think we come from the same planet.”

“Elaborate.” It was an order, not a suggestion.

“P-paradox space is home to the dead not just from one universe, but from many, alternate, parallel universes. Sometimes things happen that aren't suppose to, in the grand scheme of things, so the universe corrects itself and sometimes...starts over. If my hypothesis is correct, you came from the universe that was birthed from the failure of mine.”

Now he bore an expression that was a mix between curiosity, disbelief, and 'you'd better make a point before I liberate your head from your shoulders.'

“My planet, my universe was not strong enough to survive, so it was destroyed and your universe was created.”

“A stronger universe.”

Kankri would not have described Alternia as stronger than Beforus in anything but the literal, physical sense, but he thought it unwise to get into the details. He nodded.

“Did you not have a hemospectrum hierarchy in place, then? Is that why you would appear to have the globes to talk to me so brazenly?”

Kankri blushed and hid his face. He didn't want the highblood to see his color; that could end very badly. “We did, but it was different. There was less needless bloodshed.” He meant for his comment to needle him a little without being too threatening. He only laughed.

“No wonder the place had to be destroyed.” He nudged Kankri onto his back with his foot, resting it on his chest. “A planet without bloodshed would leave a troll like Orphaner Dualscar out of a job.”

“Orphaner?” Kankri asked, putting a hand to his chest. “Why would they call you that?”

Dualscar threw back his head and laughed, a dark sound that scared Kankri, removing his boot from his chest, allowing him to sit up. “Because I make orphans out of trolls! Surely your planet was not so pathetic that you are unfamiliar with the concept.”

Kankri gasped. “Th-that could be very triggering to trolls who have lost their lusii or friends-”

“Triggering? Triggering? That's the point! It's supposed to strike fear into the hearts of lesser trolls!” Dualscar punctuated each word by jabbing a finger into Kankri's chest.

“Lesser trolls?”

“Lowbloods,” Dualscar spat. “As I suspect you are. You look like a wriggler pretending to be an adult, what with your faux-academic nonsense and triggers and how you pale in the face of reality. You're lucky you came from such a pitiful planet. You would not have made it out of the spawning caves on mine.”

Kankri shook with fear under the intense gaze of the sea dweller. He knew that he would not have survived on Alternia and was more than a little intimidated by his dancestor because he could. His own culling, though it was non-lethal, had taken its toll on him.

“So what pathetic color are you, then? Since you did have a hemospectrum.” he hissed.

Kankri froze. Even if this troll couldn't double kill him, he had no intention of experiencing his wrath. How would he react if he found out about his mutation? His eyes flicked down to his sweater for only a moment, but Dualscar noticed.

“No...you're joking...” He grabbed Kankri's hand and held it in the air, picking him up and stretching his arm painfully. Kankri cried out as he used one claw to prick his hand. Candy red blood seeping out. Kankri braced himself to be assaulted, but there was only silence. It was almost worse, waiting to see how he would react.

The silence stretched on and on, but Kankri dared not make a move. Dualscar still had an iron grip on his wrist, the feeling seeping out of his hand.

Eventually, Dualscar spoke. “There was one like you...” he muttered. “I was there for his execution. The Signless, they called him, then The Sufferer.” He released Kankri and he felt to the floor. “He deserved to die. He plotted against Her Imperious Condescension, the mutinous bastard. He didn't die without a fight, though. Oh how he screamed and wailed and thrashed in his burning, red hot shackles.” He chuckled. “Blood seems to be the only thing you two have in common. There's no fight in you, for all your lectures and your postulating.

"Not that I would expect anythin' more from a mutant.” Kankri kept his eyes focused on the ground, his ears pinned back, the perfect picture of submission. “You look right at home, down on the ground, like the lowblood scum you are.” Kankri could feel the hot blood rising to his face. No one had ever talked to him like that. Even on Beforus when he was culled it was mostly wriggler talk, about how hard it must be to be him, and there-theres, and don't hurt yourself, and we'll take care of you. The abusive words coming from the seadweller above him...they almost excited him. “You should be grateful that I'm even lettin' you live. Although, I'm not sure what would happen if I did cull you. Can you kill somethin' that's already dead?”

A hand reached down and yanked his chin up so he was looking at Dualscar's face. “The real question...” Kankri was sure his face was very red. He hoped Dualscar would think it was fear. “...is what do I do with you now? If I were still alive, there would be only one option. But now that I'm dead? I don't even know what to do with myself, let alone some freak.” Kankri felt a shiver creep up his spine.

“W-what to do with me?” he squeaked.

“I am stuck here for the rest of eternity, presumably. I may as well get some entertainment out of you while I can.”

“Entertainment?”

Dualscar bared his shark-like seadweller teeth in a wicked grin. “I didn't have much time to relax during my life. It was always kill here, slaughter there, cull this insubordinate, silence that uprising- never a dull moment. It was all worth it in service to the Empress, of course. Now I have all the time in -what's this place? Paradox space?- all the time in paradox space to use for my leisure.” He stepped closer, towering over Kankri. “And until I cross paths with my comrades again, if I ever do, all I have is you.” A dangerously hot feeling welled up in Kankri. His eyes darted around, trying to look anywhere but the tall, handsome- wait, no! Not handsome! Tall, _terrifying_ troll in front of him. Now was not the time to be caught unawares by these possibly black advances, if that's even what they were.

A lecture started half forming in his brain about how his threats could be misconstrued as caliginous and how that might trigger trolls who were aquadrantic or demi-concupiscent or trolls that had taken vows of celibacy (that part would be especially passive aggressive) not to mention that the whole affair reeked of a lack of consent- but he couldn't keep his thoughts going. The logic that he shrouded himself in, protected himself with, couldn't be heard over this all encompassing feeling of want.

He shut his eyes and clamped his teeth down on his cheek. He took his vows for a reason! He didn't want to get swept up into some quadrant fantasy with someone who didn't care about him or know what they were doing, though Dualscar probably knew what he was doing... No! He tired to shut the thought down, but the other troll's breath was so cool on his face and it made it difficult to focus. He let one eyelid lift and he was face to face with Dualscar's knowing smirk. His cover was blown. Dualscar could read him like a book.

He knew he could get his sickles out at a moments notice if he tried to make a move. Maybe taking him by surprise would give him enough time to escape, but he desperately wanted to avoid bloodshed.

His hands were shaking, but they were ready to fight. He braced himself, a spike a fear interrupting his period of arousal. This is precisely why he took his vows; because trolls weren't to be trusted, especially not highbloods, especially not highbloods who thought they knew what was best for him.

He waited, hackles up, more than ready to defend himself if Dualscar were to make a move, but he didn't. He simply raised an eyebrow. “Ease up, sugargrub,” he said with a chuckle. “You're gonna give yourself an ulcer. Not that this isn't entertaining.” Kankri flushed harder. He was unnerved by how Dualscar saw right through him, but also a little comforted. None of his friends understood him at all, and here was this stranger from an alternate universe he'd only know for an hour who could slip past all his barriers. He relaxed his ears, but kept his gaze averted. He wanted so badly to give in to his desires, but how could he trust Dualscar not to hurt him? He couldn't.

As Dualscar had unraveled his shields, his honest voice was starting to get harder to ignore. He wanted Dualscar, in the pitying sense of the word. And he wanted to be pitied, he wanted it so much. Real pity, real romance. Not the watered down excuses that others let pass for a concupiscent quadrant.

What's the worst that could happen? The voice asked. He internally rebutted with all the horrible things he could think of -his title was Orphaner for god's sake!-, but the voice argued back. Worse than dying? Worse than being hated platonically by all his so called friends? Worse than being mocked and abandoned? He met Dualscar's dead eyes with his own. He was just watching him, waiting for him to make a decision.

“What kind of entertainment?” he whispered, making eye contact very briefly. He could feel Dualscar in his space, deliberately not touching him. Was he waiting for permission? He could hear his lips pull back from his teeth as he grinned.

“The red kind...” he answered. “Red as your mutant blood.” The word mutant, the slur he had called out so many times, forbidden people from using, sent shivers down his spine. Dualscar noticed. “Freak!” he hissed. Kankri nibbled on his lip. He took a deep breath.

“I know I'm a freak...” he answered, the words foreign on his tongue, the intent even stranger. He nodded and Dualscar accepted his consent, hands wandering his body outside his clothes, making him gasp. He was so cool to the touch. He could feel that cool breath on his ear.

“The scandal we'd make. The mutant and a seadweller.” Kankri leaned in to his touches, enjoying how well his body fit into the other's hands. They traveled to his face, forcing eye contact. “You're lucky- no, you're fucking blessed to be able to get this close to royalty, mutant!” he half growled, half chuckled, stroking Kankri's cheek. “Show me how grateful you are...”

Kankri's body seemed to move of its own accord. He fell to his knees in front of the seadweller. He'd never been this obedient. He'd fought his culling kicking and screaming and objected to each and every order his friends had given him in session, but now it was different. For whatever reason, he trusted Dualscar. He undid the seadweller's belt with shaking hands, his breath coming unevenly. This foul mouthed, vulgar, dangerous troll lit a fire in him that no other troll ever could. In a moment, he was staring face to face with the violet bulge as it emerged from its sheath. It was just as intimidating as the troll it belonged to. It arched delicately revealing little ridges and fins along its dorsal side. Kankri grasped it with shaking hands. He didn't know what he was doing, but he knew what he wanted. He ran his hands along the length, getting used to the feel of the slimy organ. It entwined itself in his fingers. He was fascinated, almost mesmerized. It seemed to have a mind of its own. He held it above his face, trying to keep it still and licked the underside from the base to the tip. It was wet and slimy and salty and he wanted more. He hummed happily as he pressed his lips against it in a mockery of a chaste kiss, lapping at the pliant skin. He slipped the tip into his mouth and gave an experimental suck. It immediately moved in of its own accord, exploring the mouth offered, curling and flexing, causing Kankri's cheeks to bulge.

There wasn't anything he could do to stop the organ from invading his mouth even if he wanted to. Still, he couldn't even fit half. He bobbed his head, letting an inch or two slide out of his mouth and then back in, sucking on the soft flesh, being very careful of his teeth.

“You like that, don't you?” Dualscar asked with a chuckle. “Doing such a service for someone so much better than you? Trolls would kill for a chance to get this close to my bulge and it's going to a mutant-blood like you from a dead planet. You better make it worth it.” Kankri nodded a little, feeling his own bulge start to react in his pants. He took a deep breath in through his nose and forced more of the bulge into his mouth. It stretched into the back of his throat, an obvious lump showing as it moved on its own. Fingers tangled in his hair and held him still as Dualscar slammed his pelvis forward, filling him as much as possible. Kankri let himself relax and focused on breathing through his nose whenever Dualscar pulled out enough to allow air in as he fucked his face. If only he had gills.

“You're a good little pail slut, aren't you? You want me to use your throat like a bucket? To fill you up with royal violet?” Kankri whined the affirmative, but not much sound came out except for a gurgle. He wanted it. He wanted Dualscar to cum in his mouth, to mark him with his purple, to leave him stained and panting on the floor. “We can't always get what we want, now can we?” Kankri was unceremoniously shoved away and onto his back. He looked up at Dualscar confused and a little afraid, pre-material staining his lips. Was he not going to finish? Was he going to just leave him there like this?

“You didn't think it'd be over that soon, did you angel fish?” he crooned as he knelt over him, armor clinking. Kankri sighed in relief as their bodies were pressed together. His bulge was more than ready to go, but had no room due to his constricting pants. They'd seemed like a good idea when he took his vows, but now he hated them. Dualscar ran his claws lightly down Kankri's sides, catching on loose fibers of the sweater, before using them to shred the front of the offending clothing, exposing him. Letting out a yelp, Kankri's bulge unsheathed faster than he thought possible. It hadn't been out in so long as he'd prided himself on denying concupiscent urges even privately. His nook was swollen and dripping already, flushed red. Dualscar clicked his tongue. “And I haven't even touched you yet.” He leaned over him and hissed in his ear. “Slut!”

Kankri moaned and let his hands creep down in between his legs, needing friction or something, anything! “Not so fast.” His hands were caught in one of Dualscar's and pinned above his head. “If you want something, you're gonna have to beg for it.”

Kankri whined and rubbed his thighs together, earning him a swat. “I said beg!”

Kankri nibbled on his lip. “Please, Orphaner!” he whined. He looked away, but Dualscar forced his face forward to look him in the eye. “Please, I need you!” he continued, long past the stage of blushing. Dualscar only watched him. Clearly it was not enough. “I...I need your royal bulge in my dripping, mutant nook! I know I don't deserve it, but I need it! I'm such a slut for you!” Kankri could not believe the words coming out of his mouth. It was one thing to let Dualscar do all the work for him, but to beg for it, to invite it out right? That was another thing entirely.

With a sigh, Dualscar lined himself up. “Good enough.” Kankri let out a scream as his bulge slid in between the lubricated folds of his nook. “F-fuck!” he hissed. “So tight, so hot!” It took a little bit of work, stretching and massaging to open him up enough to fit his massive bulge inside. Kankri was afraid he might rupture something. He whined in pain, but Dualscar didn't try to force himself in any faster. Agonizingly slowly, he pushed in bit by bit until he'd been swallowed up past the last ridge and the rest slid right in, hips smacking against hips. Dualscar wasted no time, gripping Kankri by the hips and pumping in and out, a mix of violet and red material dripping below them. Kankri could do little but lay there and scream in pleasure and be fucked. “Never pailed a lowblood before, didn't know it would be this good! I would have invested in some rust blood slaves if I knew they'd be this hot!” Kankri's haze was briefly punctured by the distasteful comment, but he wasn't distracted for long. “It's a good thing I have you now...”

His breath caught in his throat at the thought. Dualscar had him. He'd never been in that kind of' position before, physically or metaphorically. He'd never allowed himself to rely on any of his “friends,” never really trusted them. And now here he was, in the most compromising position in any and every sense of the word with a troll who could and would rip him in half without a second thought. Strangely, he never felt safer. He let himself slide back and forth on the floor as he was fucked in utter bliss. “Yes...” he moaned. “I'm yours...Orphaner...”

Dualscar's pace increased. “And what am I to call you, my sweet? I sure as hell ain't calling you Signless.”

“K-Kankri...Kankri Vantas is my name.” He managed to string the right words together coherently, to his surprise.

“You belong to me now, Kankri Vantas. You're my little plaything. Your new duty is to keep me pleased throughout eternity. Forget the stupid book, forget about anyone else. You. Are. Mine!” He punctuated each of the final words with a slam of his hips.

“Yesssss...ssssir...” Kankri slurred. He could do that. He could forget everything if only he could stay like this forever. “I'm yourssss...”

Everything was a blur of pleasure. Kankri's eyes were shut, a satisfied grin on his face. Dualscar continued to hiss disgusting, sweet things into his ears, causing his lazily twisting bulge to twitch. He felt the pleasure build up, then unwind slowly, then build up again, then come back down. He didn't care if he ever came, he just wanted to stay suspended in this state of happiness. He was shaken out of his trance when Dualscar started to thrust harder. His hips slapped up against Kankri's backside with a squelching sound and a dull pain. He sped up. His dirty nothings turned into swears in some bubbly seadweller tongue that Kankri could not hope to understand. He was suddenly pulled back to reality by a calloused hand wrapping itself around his bulge. His legs went stiff and his knees locked, his back arching off the floor.

“Fuck!” he shouted, the first time he'd sworn in sweeps, as he came. Candy red material spurted from his bulge and soaked his nook as he tightened up, squeezing the bulge inside of him, wringing it out as it too started to pour out material. Dualscar's claws sunk punctures into his thighs and left bruises outlining each finger as he filled Kankri to the brim.

Dualscar's bulge retracted, chest heaving, head bowed, crouched over Kankri who lay in the puddle of genetic material, a royal violet and mutant red slurry. A scratchy purr rose from Kankri's chest as he bathed in the after glow. He could feel the material soaking into his clothes, but didn't spare it a thought. He was drifting. He was warm and happy and tired. He just wanted to close his eyes and sleep. He could double die right then and be happier than he'd ever felt in his miserable life and death. He faintly registered being picked up by strong arms, being pressed against cold armor that threatened his happy warmth. Then, warm water was running over him, rinsing him, and he was being stripped of the remnants of his clothes. He opened his eyes slowly and made out the shape of the other faintly through the steam. He reached out to touch him, unsure if he was real. A strong hand grasped his own, gently, even though he was capable of crushing it. Cool lips were pressed against it, an act so pale that Kankri could feel his blush returning. He was confused. What quadrant was this supposed to be? Red? Black? Pale? He realized, he didn't care. He just let himself be bathed and cuddled.

When he woke, he was nestled in the comforting slime of a recuperacoon. He could tell immediately that it was not his own. The soft rise and fall of another's chest behind him reminded him that he was not alone. He remembered slowly the events that had occurred; the fear of meeting the troll to the bliss that was his last memory. He leaned against his solid body, hoping to enjoy it for a little while longer, before he had to return to reality. Lean, muscled arms wrapped around him. He didn't know if it was the sopor slime or the fact that he was probably insane, but he didn't feel scared. He relaxed into his grip.

“How's my little ruby?” the other drawled. Kankri couldn't help the smile that crept across his face. He had been afraid that Dualscar would kick him out or attempt to kill him. He let a soft purr be his response. “Good boy...” He didn't say it like his caregiver would, in that sappy, mocking voice, like he was extraordinary for getting out of his recuperacoon in the morning; he said it like...

Like a lover.

He never believed in serendipity before, especially when it came to quadrants, but maybe- just maybe- he might be starting to. A rumbling laugh came from Dualscar's chest, echoing Kankri's purr. A hand covered in rings pushed his bangs out of his face and cool lips were pressed against his forehead.

“Almost makes me believe in magic again...” he muttered. Kankri shot forward with a squeak. That sounded so much like Cronus. He peeked over his shoulder, cheeks dusted red. Dualscar was watching him with a small amount of worry in his pale eyes. “You okay there, chief?” There it was again. It was eerie and a little disgusting. Kankri didn't want to be thinking about Cronus in a tender, flushed moment like this one.

A chuckle bubbled out of his lips. “You-” he cleared his throat. It was raw from all the screaming and moaning he'd done a few hours ago. “You sound a lot like someone I know...” He took in Dualscar's look- hair mussy from sleeping, fins fluttering lazily, a small smirk that revealed sharp teeth. “You look like him too.” Dualscar's eyes narrowed.

“You know a seadweller?” he asked.

“Perhaps more than just that. You know how you talked about your Signless?” The other nodded. “Well, he's like my planet's Dualscar.” He was clearly intrigued, questions already starting to form behind his black lips. “I don't think you'd like him,” he finished quietly.

The look on Dualscar's face was hard to place- a little concern, a little curiosity. “Do _you_ like him?” he asked.

The sound that came out of Kankri could really only be described as a snort. “Like him? I mean, he's my friend...kind of...but no, not in the sense of...I mean not considering...I mean...no...”

“The sense of what?” Dualscar purred, pulling Kankri back to him through the slime. “Considering what?”

“Well...” he stammered. “The flushed sense, considering quadrants...” It was embarrassing to say it, despite the much more embarrassing acts he'd performed earlier.

“Good.” Dualscar pulled him in for a kiss. “I don't want to have to fight him for you.”

Kankri furrowed his brow. “I'm not some prize to be won...” he muttered.

“Perhaps not, but you're precious to me all the same.” Kankri eeped and buried his face in Dualscar's chest.

“I need some time to think...” he murmured, voice muffled in his cool skin. “I should return to my bubble...” A horrible thought struck him. If he left Dualscar's bubble, would he be able to find him again? He wouldn't put it past paradox space to make sure their paths never crossed. “Will you...” he hesitated. Clearly the other was reciprocating his flushed feelings, but he still felt nervous. “Will you wait for me?”

“I got all the time in the world sugar.”


End file.
